Second Chances
by TheWammy'sHouseReject
Summary: He didn't ask to be saved.
1. Stronger Than I Look

Man, I haven't written a Yu-Gi-Oh fic in FOREVER O.O

KK, this is a story in which Bakura gets a second chance at life. It may turn into Tendershipping if my reviewers want it to ;) It will be anywhere from five to twenty chapters long, and may change to an M rating if I need it to.

Just a note- this Bakura is the Bakura who has had Zorc's influence removed, so he is considerably less evil. Watch Yu-Gi-Oh 211 to see what I mean.

Speaking of, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters, nor do I profit from this story. Enjoy, and please review :D

**~O~**

Bakura's head throbbed as a bright light met his eyes. He groaned and sat up, immediately realizing that he was laying on something soft.

"What in the name of…"

He was in a bed. And not just any bed- this bed was extremely familiar to him, though he couldn't quite place why.

"So, you're finally awake."

Oh. That was why.

Bakura looked over to the doorway, coming face to face with Ryou. Ryou stared back at him with a look that was evidently supposed to be angry, but only came off as a mild disapproval.

"You haven't been moving for days. I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever wake up."

Ryou brushed a stray wisp of hair behind his ear, his eyes wandering around the room. Bakura's eyes narrowed.

"Why the hell am I here?" He asked. Ryou looked back at him, beginning to fidget nervously.

"…I found you passed out in an alley on my way back from school," he explained. "I figured it was only fair that I gave you a hand."

"How did you-"

"I'm a lot stronger than I look, you know," Ryou snapped. Bakura fell silent.

"It's freezing cold out there, anyway. You wouldn't have survived out there."

"…So why save me?"

"It wouldn't have been decent of me to leave you out there to freeze, now would it?" Ryou asked, smiling.

Bakura knew that smile. It was the face he'd wear when he didn't want to be found out. The mask he put on so people wouldn't question him, wouldn't wonder if he was hurting.

It was a cute smile, adding a certain appeal to his otherwise plain features. It made a dimple in his left cheek and overall made his entire face light up. It was charming, disarming…and one hundred percent fake.

"You don't have to do that in front of me," Bakura said.

"Do what?" Ryou asked, his smile falling.

"Pretending that you're happy. I know you're not- I shared a body with you for years, remember?"

Ryou hung his head.

"I remember."

An uncomfortable silence settled over the two of them. The only noise was the ticking of the clock in the other room. Bakura adjusted the bedding needlessly, suddenly feeling nervous. A question worked its way into his mind, though it took about a minute before he had the courage to ask it.

"…Why am I here?"

Ryou jumped.

"What?"

"Why am I here? The last thing I remember, I-"

_"What's going on? Who are you? Where am I? Tell me!"_

_"What's happening to me?"_

"I died. I swear I died. I-"

"I know. You tried to break the seal on Zorc, and it cost you your own life. I felt it."

Again, Ryou smiled his fake smile.

"…It hurt pretty bad, didn't it? To have your soul ripped from your body like that."

Bakura blinked.

"Yes."

"I know. I felt every bit of it. Every bit of your suffering. And as much as I'd like to hate you, I can't bring myself to do it."

What could Bakura say? 'I'm sorry' wouldn't nearly be enough to cover his trespasses.

"Call me foolish," Ryou added, "but I find it hard to hate you after learning about your past."

"You know?"

Bakura glared at Ryou, grabbing fistfuls of sky blue blanket in a vice grip.

"How _much _do you know?"

Ryou took a step back.

"_Answer me!" _Bakura roared. "How much do you know about my past?"

"I-I'm sorry! If you d-didn't want me to know-"

"Shut up. It's not your fault."

Bakura took a deep breath and slumped over.

"There has to be a reason why I'm here. Has the short little brat seen the Pharaoh lately?"

"I don't think so. Truth be told, I haven't seen him in awhile."

Ryou had a guilty look about him. As if it was somehow his fault that Yugi found himself in such a sorry state. Ryou was always the type of person to take the blame for something that he didn't do.

Bakura allowed himself to smirk a little.

"Oh? So short stuff doesn't care about you anymore?" Maybe that was a little harsh. But Bakura never minced words, and he saw no point in dancing around that fact.

"He does! He's just really upset that Pharaoh's gone!" Ryou insisted. "He…he didn't take it well. He really tried to be happy for him, but…there's only so much you can ask somebody to do."

Bakura scoffed.

"Right. Dealing with your problems is so overrated. Better to waste your time sulking and not doing anything about it."

Ryou turned away, walking out of the bedroom.

"Sometimes that's all you _can _do," he whispered, before closing the door.


	2. Things Have Changed

Hi there! I am back with the second chapter to Second Chances :D I need a poll from you lovely readers as to whether there should be Tendershipping (or technically Gemshipping, as one reviewer pointed out) in this story. If you favorite, please leave a few words stating what you like or don't like, any suggestions, requests, etc. Thank you, and have a great day :3

_A boy struggled bravely against the harsh, unforgiving sun. The side of his face was caked in drying blood. The scalding sand scorched the undersides of his bare feet. His throat burned with thirst, his stomach contracting and growling painfully with hunger._

_His entire body ached in protest, demanding that he rest. The boy, however, trudged on. He wasn't going to stop, and he **wasn't **going to give up._

_The sun continued to beat down upon him, hot and cruel and merciless._

_The child stumbled, and then collapsed. The hot sand burned his cheek and side. His vision blurred and blackened, his pain relieved by oblivion._

Ryou stumbled and fell into his desk chair. Opening a drawer, he pulled out the object he'd been holding on to all these years.

A ring made of thin gold, surrounded by spiked, a pyramid balanced precariously in the center.

The Millennium Ring.

He fought back tears as he hugged it close to his chest, whispering thank yous as fast as they would come.

"Thank you…thank you…thank you, thank you, thank you…"

(it was strange that he would feel so grateful for Bakura's return. Even after everything Bakura had done…everyone he had hurt…)

"…Thank you…"

(…He had begged for Bakura to come back.)

_"Bakura…"_

_Ryou stares into the eye in the very center of the ring, holding it tightly in his pale hands._

_"…I don't know if you can hear me. I don't even know if you're still there. But if you can hear me, I want you to say something. Anything. Bakura, please, don't leave me like this! Don't leave me alone! Please…"_

_There wasn't a response; there never was. but Ryou feels like he **needs **to keep talking, if only for the sake of breaking the silence._

_"I'm getting along alright on my own. Even after what you did. I haven't been depressed or moping around; I know how much you hate that."_

_Ryou sighs._

_"I still have that scar on my arm. I just thought you should know that."_

_The silence is so complete and so deafening that Ryou can hear the sound of his heart breaking._

Bakura woke up yet again, feeling oddly whimsical. He would almost rather be back in the desert, rather than leave the room and have to face _him…_

He stretched himself out, back arching as he yawned like a lazy cat. He'd certainly slept for long enough.

Getting out of bed, he pulled back the moth eaten curtains, blinking at the light that came flooding in.

Funny. There didn't used to be an alleyway outside his Landlord's bedroom. Either he had moved apartments, or the apartment had moved itself.

He looked at it for a long time before yawning again, and deciding that he didn't care.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door into the rest of the apartment.

Paint was chipping off all the walls. There was a damp stain of something or other on Ryou's bedroom ceiling. The place was shabby, true, but spotlessly clean- keeping with his landlord's tidy personality.

"Landlord?" Bakura called.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Ryou called back.

When Bakura found him, he took in the sight of how his landlord had changed.

The babyish roundness of his face had gone, leaving more sharp angles than there had been before. His wide, childlike eyes had narrowed, and peered out at him from behind a pair of thin-rimmed glasses. He was dressed in a secondhand tie and jacket, and overall just seemed so much _older _than when Bakura had seen him last.

"Stop staring at me. It's unnerving."

Bakura mentally slapped himself and came back to reality.

"Sorry."

Ryou shrugged.

"I have to go now. There's food in the fridge, and I left my cell phone number in case you need me."

"Where are you going?" Bakura asked.

"To college. If I miss another class, there's no way I'll be able to pass this semester," Ryou replied.

"Missing class, Landlord? What kind of scholar are you?" Bakura couldn't quite keep the smirk off his face.

"A scholar who has a job. We'll talk more later, I really have to go!"

Before any more words could be said, Ryou ran out the door and slammed it shut behind him.

A sudden unease settled over Bakura. The very air of the apartment seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

_I'm alone…again._

He turned his attention toward the desk pressed up against the wall. it was covered in paper, paint and dirty brushes. The three shelves above it were lined with figurines. Bakura decided he had to look.

He looked took one in his hands, turning it over and examining it carefully.

It was a young girl, clothed in a pure white robe, her pink-cheeked face framed by soft, snowy curls. Her tiny, outstretched hands held a multicolored butterfly. A pair of thin, fragile angel wings extended from her back.

Everything about it was perfect. From her serene smile to her sparkling blue eyes to her delicately carved fingers, everything was crafted in loving detail.

Engraved into the gold painted pedestal was one simple word:

_Amane._

Bakura put the figurine back on the shelf, a part of him regretting that he took it off at all. Afraid that he might have somehow tainted its perfection.

He looked at the others, seeing some that he recognized.

Yugi, Tèa, Joey and Tristan were all lined up in a row, their names engraved into the pedestals they rested on.

In all the years he had known his Landlord, Bakura never knew that Ryou possessed such an incredible talent.

His eyes rested on one figure in particular. This one had long, white hair and narrow brown eyes. Unlike the friendly smiles of the others, this figure wore a cruel smirk. In the place where the person's name usually was, there were carved instead, the words: _"The other Me."_

Bakura sank onto his knees, still holding the figurine.

"…I messed up," he whispered.

_This is ridiculous. Why does this doll have such an effect on me?_

It didn't matter.

He had done many things to hurt Ryou.

And now he had to make things right.


	3. Power in a Name

Yeah. Sorry this took so fucking long. Anyway, I had writer's block DX But I did it :)

Yugi is a bit OOC in this chapter, but for a good reason, especially considering what is revealed in later chapters. Anyway…YAY, GEM/TENDERSHIPPING :D

Please read and review :D

~oOo~

Bakura was curled up lazily on the couch, flipping aimlessly through the channels on the television, when Ryou finally returned, about ten hours after he had left.

"I called in sick for work today. I was just scared to leave him alone any longer, Yugi."

Bakura glanced up from his position with a lazy air that suggested an annoyed acknowledgment.

"Well, well. The artist has returned with a porcupine."

Unlike Ryou, Yugi hadn't changed a bit. Still short, still with those wide, open eyes. (Eyes that were currently glaring at him.)

"Bakura, are you sure that it's alright to keep him at your house?" He asked, pointedly ignoring Bakura's snide remark.

"Well, he hasn't hurt me so far."

"But he still could! You _know _you can't trust him!"

_He can't trust you either, _Bakura couldn't help thinking. _He can't trust anybody. _Deep down, he knew that his Landlord was thinking it, too. He saw it in the way his eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and the way the corner of his mouth twitched.

(People may have called him a sociopath, but that didn't mean Bakura couldn't read a facial expression.)

"Look, Yugi, please listen," Ryou said, holding his hands up and closing his eyes, the usual way of placating anybody who happened to be angry with him. (That fake smile again…)

"Bakura may not be the most trustworthy guy in the world, but he really doesn't have anywhere else to go. He doesn't know his way around, and without the Millennium Ring I doubt he can take over my body."

Ryou forced a laugh at this, but Yugi wasn't amused.

"He can't stay with you, Bakura! You _know _that!"

"Yugi, please, he doesn't have anywhere else to go!" Ryou was almost desperate, pleading…for _him? _For a person who had only ever hurt him… he was begging.

"He's a bastard! After what he did to you…you're a moron if you keep him here!"

"I thought…maybe he never learned any better. I could-"

"He's not a dog, Bakura!" Yugi snapped. "He's a thief and a murderer! Did you forget everything he put us through? "

"I'm not trying to justify anything he did, but I want to give him a chance! Please understand, Yugi."

Bakura turned off the television and stood up. A smirk stretched his face wide as his eyes narrowed at Yugi.

"You are unwise," he said, his voice dripping poisoned honey and sickly sweetness, "To enter this house and speak to my Landlord in such a rude manner."

_To the man I owe so much. To the boy I hurt so deeply…_

_You'd be wise to watch your tongue._

"Rude? After what you pulled, you call _me _rude?"

"Guys, stop it!" Ryou pleaded, stepping in between them.

"When did Mister 'I forgive everyone, even if they tried to kill me' turn into a prick?" Bakura mocked, his voice taking on a cocky and self assured tone.

"Why you…"

Bakura had to admit, it was an amusing effort to look intimidating on Yugi's part. Alas, he only succeeded in making himself look ridiculous.

Yugi huffed and turned his attention back toward Ryou.

"Why did you drag me here, anyway, if you're not going to listen to me?"

Ryou took a quick breath to gather his confidence.

"I want to know if you've seen the Pharaoh lately. Has he come back the same way Bakura has?"

Yugi suddenly looked quite crestfallen.

"No."

"Oh…I see…do you know any reason why Bakura would be here?"

"No. We'd have to talk to Marik or something. Maybe he could help."

Yugi shrugged, and said nothing at all.

"Yugi, would you like something to drink?" Ryou asked. "I just went shopping a few days ago, so I'm not short on anything."

"No, I'd rather not," Yugi replied, heaving a sigh. "Listen, I have a date with Tèa soon, so I won't be able to stay long."

"Really? Are you two still going out?"

(Neither of them mentions that they haven't spoken to each other in almost three whole years.)

"Yup." Yugi's mood seemed to brighten a bit with the change of subject. "She was down for a bit after she got rejected by that dance studio, but she got over it pretty quickly."

"Is that so?"

Ryou was good at feigning interest. Bakura could give him that.

"To be honest, I'm not sure how our relationship would work with Ya-Atem around, anyway. It seems too much like a threesome to me. It kinda creeped me out."

_Atem…Atem…the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh. _

_Blood. Blood, death, torture, oh, god, make it stop, please…_

Bakura began to tremble violently. Tiny, pained noises fled from his throat.

_Pain, blood, blood, **blood, DEATH, **screams, agony, fire, gold, melting, crying, dying, moaning…_

"What's your problem?" Yugi asked. "I didn't even_ say_ anything about you. All I did was-"

_His first kill happened when he was only eight years old. It wasn't out of cold blood- the man had attacked him. The man had tried to hurt and to **take **from the one who had already lost so much, who was balanced on a razor's edge…_

…When Bakura came back around, he heard Ryou's pleading voice, and felt his fingers wrapped around Yugi's thin, fragile neck.

"Stop it, please!" Ryou begged. "Let him go!"

Now, Bakura was aware that his hands were trembling. Yugi's eyes were wide, his face turning blue. Ryou had his hands over Bakura's, struggling to pull them off.

"Let him go! Please!"

Ryou finally succeeded in prying them apart.

"Yugi, are you alright?" he asked. "I'm so sorry about this…"

Yugi coughed and rubbed his neck.

"I…I'm just gonna go now," he said. "Call me if you need help."

Yugi cast one last angry look at Bakura before limping out the door. Ryou doesn't look angry at him. (He never looks angry- Bakura sometimes wonders if his face is capable of making an angered expression.

"…It was his name."

Ryou dropped a blanket over Bakura's shoulders. "The Pharaoh's name…it triggered something…"

He knelt so he was level with Bakura. Bakura tried to turn his head in shame, to hide himself, but Ryou wouldn't have it. He took Bakura's chin in his hands and made him meet his eyes.

Ryou's eyes were beautiful. Dark brown like rich earth, they seemed just on the verge of tears. (They always seemed on the verge of tears.)

"Bakura…I'm sorry. It was stupid to bring him here."

He wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck and hugged him. Bakura was so stunned by this simple gesture of trust that he didn't know how to react.

He didn't say a word. He didn't need to.

And even if he did, he wasn't sure he could find the right words to say.


	4. Fever Dreams

Hi, everyone :D I updated :D Aren't you proud of me?

Anyway, please review when you finish :3

~oOo~

"Are you warm enough, Bakura? I have some extra blankets if you need them."

Bakura shifted, letting his back face his Landlord.

"I'm fine. I've slept in colder places."

(Both of them made a point to not acknowledge what happened earlier. Neither of them wanted to bring it up.)

"Right. I'll just be out there if you need me, so-"

"_No!"_

Bakura grabbed hold of Ryou's wrist. It twisted painfully in his grasp, prompting a cry of pain from the other.

"AH! Bakura, what the hell are you-"

He trailed off when he noticed Bakura was trembling.

"Not alone…don't leave me here alone." So quiet. Almost pitiful. "Not again…"

_I've been alone for far too long. I've been on my own…lonely. Please, don't leave. Just stay until I fall asleep._

"Bakura, what's wrong?"

_"He's dangerous! You're an idiot if you keep him here!"_

_No. there's no way. Besides, he's far too confused to do anything dangerous._

Bakura tried to compose himself. When he next spoke, at least a little of his self-assured, overconfident demeanor returned.

"The bed's big enough for two people. Besides, it's your house, Landlord. It'd be rude of me to make you sleep out there."

"What do you think I did the whole time you've been here?" Ryou raised an eyebrow. "It's fine, really. I'll sleep on the couch."

Bakura yanked down on Ryou's wrist, pulling him down onto the bed.

"Hey!"

Ryou glared halfheartedly at Bakura before realizing it was pointless. He clambered under the covers and turned out the light, leaving his glasses on the bedside table. He settled down onto the pillow and closed his eyes.

"I have to get up early, Bakura," he said. "Don't freak out if I'm gone when you wake up."

Bakura made a little noise of acknowledgement. Then, he asked the question he had been dying to have answered.

"Landlord, why did you change houses?"

"Huh?" It took a few moments for the realization to dawn on Ryou. "Oh, I stopped letting my father pay my rent. I wanted to take care of myself, so…yeah. Here I am."

That smile again. God, Bakura _hated _that fake, hollow smile. (He also hates the fact that he himself put it there.)

"Goodnight, Bakura. Wake me up if you need anything."

...Silence.

~oOo~

_Fever raging. So hot, cutting off breath. Killing him, wasting away..._

_Reality is fluid- hallucinations leave him screaming. Horrifying, faces with no eyes, flesh melted away._

**_"Bakura, will you die with us?"_**

_"No...I don't want to die..."_

**_"Won't you keep us company? It's so lonely here."_**

_"No, no, no! Leave me alone!"_

_(They look so horrible, was that really his mother? There, that one, was his father, and his little sister.)_

_"Amane...what have they done to you?"_

**_"Won't you die with us, big brother?" _**_So horrible, barely human. **"Come with us, it's better here. The Pharaoh can't touch us here."**_

_"NO!"_

_Bright red eyes behind him, glowing, horrible fanged teeth clicking, ready to kill him. It's dark, so dark, please...  
><em>

_He would be shaken, hear other voices yelling, calling out to him. And yet, all he could see, all he could feel, were his family._

_He emerges from this fever dazed and confused. He has to remind himself of what happened- what he had to do. He barely noticed the woman tending his wounds, fretting, losing sleep over him. It takes a week before he's able to perceive the world with any degree of clarity._

_The woman's husband calls him mad- a demon, a monster. No matter how she pleads for Bakura's sake, it doesn't reach his ears. _

_But Bakura did not forget._

_That's why, when he finally comes back to himself, he decides that, despite the revenge he must exact, he had a debt to pay._

_He stays and works, despite the ridicule from others. Despite the laughter he gets for his scar. The glares and blows he gets as an outcast- the lonely orphan boy who refused to speak of his village. The woman tries to protect him, she really does. But it's not enough. Her valiant efforts never spared him any suffering._

_That's why, the night he sets the village on fire, he kills the woman last._

~oOo~

Bakura is alone when he wakes up. Even though it's early in the morning, Ryou had left long before. He sighed and got out of bed.

He turned the television on, the volume up high, to banish the nightmares from his mind.


	5. Looking Back

_**Don't worry folks- the plot is about to start XD Next chapter, the real story begins :D**_

_**~oOo~**_

Bakura didn't want to touch the dolls again. He was afraid that, if he did, he would corrupt them; his mind's eye showed them turning black and melting into a sickening sludge. So, he contented himself with simply looking, like an admirer gazing at his lover from afar.

Amane. Yugi. Tèa. And him- the nameless thief at the end of the shelf, perfect and carefully created by a loving master's hands.

I've shared a body with him for years…and I never knew he possessed such an incredible talent.

His mind was full of the past- memories tainted and colorless, like paintings faded with time.

_"You're such a handsome boy," Hasina says, caressing his face in a gentle mother's touch. "Ah, it's a shame you'll have such a horrible scar."_

_Bakura absentmindedly brushes his fingers over the fresh bandages, one uncovered eye narrowed._

_"I don't care," he says, more harshly than he intended to._

**_I intend to make a bigger scar, anyway. A scar so large that it will consume all of Egypt, and that bastard Pharaoh with it._**

_Hasina can almost sense the dark thoughts twisting and writhing in his mind. Another crease presses into her wrinkled forehead. She pulls him into a tight hug, his head against her shoulder._

_"You poor child," she says, her voice sad and broken. **(Such a heavy sadness was too much for one so young.)**_

_Her work worn hands were warm and comforting, cradling his head just like his mother used to do..._

"Bakura, I'm home!"

_But he pushes her away, even though he needs the comfort more than anything. Because he doesn't want her comfort._

_At least…that's what he tells himself._

"Bakura? Are you alright?"

...His mind came back to reality.

He was in his Landlord's apartment, sitting cross-legged on the fake wooden floor, staring at a bunch of hand painted dolls.

"Yes," he replied, after a pause to clear his head.

"I was just wondering-" his trademark Cheshire cat grin spread across his face, "How long did you hide this talent from me? I never knew you were an artist."

A powder pink dusted Ryou's cheeks. He forced a cough and looked away sheepishly.

"Well, I took a sculpture class when I was about eight years old, but it never really interested me. It wasn't until…after you left…that I took it up again as a real hobby." Ryou threw in a shrug, as if to ask 'Why do you want to know?'

Bakura yawned, his tongue lolling out of his mouth like a dog's.

"I don't care, anyway. I can't tell you what to do in your free time," he said.

Another of Ryou's hollow smiles. Like a perfect marble statue- no emotion reached his eyes.

"That wasn't always the case, if you'll recall," he said, evidently trying to be playful.

Bakura grumbled to himself, but didn't want to reply.

"Do you like them?" Ryou asked, picking up the Amane doll and holding it gently.

"They're beautiful," Bakura admitted.

Then, something odd happened. Ryou broke out in a warm and surprisingly real smile.

"You know what? Nobody's ever told me that before."

Bakura 'hmph'-ed indignantly; it was now his turn to blush.

"C'mon, I got paid today- let's go out for dinner."

_**~oOo~**_

_Amane jumped backward when she accidentally knocked over their bottle of bubble soap, spilling its contents onto the concrete driveway._

_"Big brother, I'm sorry!" she whined, and began to cry._

_Ryou held her close._

_"It's alright, Amane. No use crying over it, is there?"_

_Amane sniffled, but nodded._

_"Playing with bubbles was getting boring, anyway," Ryou added. "C'mon, let's go play on the swing set."_

_Amane's face brightened, and through her tears, she smiled. She leapt to her feet and ran toward the swings, arms outstretched like an airplane. Ryou jumped up and sprinted to catch her..._

"Landlord, get your head out of the clouds."

Ryou glanced upward at Bakura, who had single handedly eaten four double cheeseburgers and a large order of French Fries.

Currently, he was smiling his Cheshire smile and waiting for Ryou to come back to Earth.

"You aren't going to eat like this every day, are you?" Ryou asked, deliberately ignoring Bakura. "I'll go bankrupt if you keep this up."

"My apologies. In my day, food was hard to come by. I'll have to keep in mind that things have changed."

Sarcasm dripped from Bakura's voice. Ryou glared at him, then turned back to his dinner.

"Bakura, I've been meaning to ask you something." Ryou tugged at his collar and fidgeted with his glasses before going on. "There has to be a reason you're here, right? You have to have some idea what that is."

Bakura shook his head.

"If I knew why I was here, Landlord, I'd be out doing whatever I needed done, not cooped up in a damp old apartment all day." He leaned against the squeaky vinyl of their booth, colored in loud red and white checkers. "I can't bear to stay in one place when I know I have a purpose to fulfill."

Ryou made a small noise of acknowledgement.

"You people these days are so content to stagnate, to live from day to day with no thought of a greater purpose. That's what aggravates me about this modern world. And the past world, as well," he added. "What's the point of surviving today if tomorrow remains unchanged?"

Surprise tinged Ryou's gaze.

"You care about that kind of thing?"

"Landlord."

Bakura lifted Ryou's chin, forcing their eyes to meet.

"That's all I ever cared about. First, to make tomorrow better for my village, and then...to live to avenge it, when it died."

"Revenge doesn't fix the past."

"It doesn't, Landlord. I know that much. But...it can be the bandage over your wounded heart."

_**~oOo~**_

_**The more reviews I get, the faster I shall post a new chapter :D So...review :D**_


	6. Debt

Hi peeps :D Review when you finish reading, please XD I won't update again until I get five more reviews. So...review :P

~oOo~

"Damn you!" Ryou growled, furious with his secondhand laptop. "Work already!"  
>"What are you doing, Landlord?" Bakura demanded from his position sprawled out on the sofa, one leg dangling over the armrest.<br>"I'm trying to research some ancient Egyptian mythology. I'm hoping that'll give me some place to start."  
>"Start for what?" Bakura propped himself up on an elbow.<br>"I want to know why you're back here. I thought I made that pretty clear."  
>"What will you do when you find out, Landlord?"<br>"What do you mean?"  
>"What if the answer is something you don't like? What will you do then?"<br>Ryou shifted uncomfortably, and then shrugged.  
>"I don't know. I haven't really thought that far."<br>"Think about it now. What if you don't like what I have to do?"  
>Ryou stared at nothing in particular, lost in his thoughts.<br>"Will you let me accomplish my unpleasant task?" He asked. "Or, will you use it as an excuse to keep me?"  
>Ryou came out of his trance with a rather unpleasant jolt.<br>"What's _that _supposed to mean?" He demanded, blushing bright red.  
>"You heard me, Landlord."<br>Ryou huffed and turned his attention back to his laptop.  
>"Bloody thing takes forever to start," he grumbled.<br>"Hm. That makes starving to death in the desert a truly _enviable_ fate, doesn't it, Landlord?" It was hard to miss Bakura's blatant sarcasm.  
>"What do you mean by <em>that<em>?" Ryou snapped  
>"Just putting things in perspective for you, Landlord," Bakura said innocently. "There are far worse fates in this world than a malfunctioning...whatever that is."<br>"A laptop."  
>"Whatever."<br>"I guess you _do _have a point, though. Ah! Here we are. Let's see what we've got. Hm...Do you think any of your gods could've been involved?"  
>"Maybe Anubis. But that's a big fat maybe."<br>"Anubis...he helped mummify Osiris, right?"  
>"That's right."<br>"Oh, Bakura look at this!" Ryou sat upright, face lighting up. "It looks like Ishizu and Marik are bringing that Egyptian exhibit back to Domino. Maybe that'll give us a place to start."  
>"Marik? If it's all the same Landlord, I think I'd have to say no."<br>"Why?" Ryou blinked and gave Bakura one of his adorable 'I'm completely confused' looks.  
>"Marik and I have some less than pleasant history, Landlord. Or have you already forgotten that?"<br>"I hardly remember _anything _from back then. You know that, Bakura."  
>Ryou closed his laptop with a heavy sigh.<br>"We're going to the exhibit, Bakura," He said firmly. "And I'm talking to Ishizu. No more complaining. As long as you live in my apartment, you'll do what I say. Got me?"  
>Bakura growled.<br>"Very well, Landlord. You sound just like your father. Well done."  
>It was Ryou's turn to growl.<br>_"As long as you live in my house, you'll do what I say. Do you understand, young man?"_  
>"I suppose I do."<br>"My apologies, Landlord. That was mean." Bakura's smile was mocking him. Ryou grabbed the remote and turned on the television. He stood up and went to his desk, picked up one of his half completed dolls, and brought it back to his place. Then he sat cross-legged, took a knife and began to work.

~oOo~

The museum was exactly how Bakura remembered it, the one time he had visited. This time, though, he was trailing Ryou like an obedient puppy.  
>Ryou walked through the front doors and to the Egyptian exhibit without stopping once, no matter how much he may have been interested.<br>They entered the exhibit. Marik was standing with his back to them, spraying and wiping down one of the glass cases.  
>"Marik, hi!" Ryou chirped brightly. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"<br>Marik turned around.  
>"Ryou! Good to see you. How've you..."<br>He trailed off as his gaze met Bakura's. Bakura smiled rather sheepishly.  
>"Long time no see?" He offered. Ryou was in shock (and rather amused)- Bakura was actually <em>embarrassed? <em>It was almost laugh worthy to watch.  
>"Um, hey there," Marik said in a clipped tone. "Ryou, is that who I think it is?"<br>"Yes, I'm afraid. He just showed up a couple days ago, and he doesn't know how he got there. I was hoping maybe this exhibit is a good place to start."  
>"Sounds like a plan," Marik said. "I'll get my sister."<br>He ran off the other way. When he was gone, Ryou began looking around, peering at the artifacts. His brow knitted together in concentration.  
>"Bakura, look around and see if anything looks familiar."<br>Ryou was completely absorbed in this one particular case. His eyes lit up with a joy that they so rarely seemed to hold. Bakura went to the giant stone tablet he'd seen last time. It had been years, but that particular memory was still fresh in his mind.

It hadn't changed a bit. Just a little cleaner than last time. Bakura looked it over- nothing had changed since the last time. No magical new meanings came to him; no miraculous answers revealed themselves to him.  
>He regarded the Pharaoh's picture with a look of disdain and disgust. He stuck his tongue out at the tablet.<br>"Really mature, Bakura," Ryou pouted, when he looked over.  
>"Ryou?"<br>Marik had returned, with Ishizu beside him. She regarded Bakura with a cool head.  
>"The Ring. Do you have it?" She asked.<br>Bakura shook his head.  
>"I do," Ryou confessed. He tugged at the lace around his neck and pulled it up. "It took me forever to find it under all the rubble. But it's fine."<br>Marik leaned in to examine it closer. Ishizu wished she still had the Millennium Necklace. It always seemed to hold the answers for her.  
>"Spirit," she said, addressing Bakura. "What do you remember of your death?"<br>Bakura raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.  
>"I turned into sand."<br>"And after that?"  
>"...Nothing. There was nothing. <em>I <em>was nothing. Maat had judged me, and I was destroyed." The question hung, unspoken, in the air. _How am I still here?_  
><em>"You have a debt to pay, Bakura."<em> 


	7. Repayment

"A debt? What the hell does that mean?" Bakura demanded of thin air.

"I will show you."

And suddenly, Domino museum was gone. The tile beneath his feet was gone, glass cases with tarnished finery replaced with tables laden with sumptuous foods and fine wines.

But the only thing Bakura noticed was the lean young man seated on a cushioned throne. He peered at Bakura with violet eyes, surveying him as he sipped wine from a golden chalice.

A hatred rose up in Bakura's heart so fiercely he thought that it would burst.

"Pharaoh," he spat, clenching his hands into trembling fists.

If the Pharaoh caught on to the hatred in his voice, he didn't let it show.

"It's been awhile, Bakura," he said, in a deliberately formal tone.

"Not long enough."

The Pharaoh sighed and pinched his brow, setting down the chalice.

"I am the one who petitioned for your resurrection," he said, deciding to dispense with the pleasantries (if these could be called that) and getting straight to the point. "It was no easy task- the gods were not willing to give a man like you any second chances."

"How nice. The almighty Pharaoh condescending to pity me," Bakura scoffed.

"Not you," Pharaoh corrected. "Ryou."

"Huh?" Bakura cocked his head, his stance switching to something less threatening. "My...Landlord?"

"Yes." Pharaoh set the chalice down, his brow knitted together. "You owe him."

"What do you mean, I owe him?"

"You used his body. His mind was your haven. And you abused his flesh and wounded his mind. You must repay him for that."

Bakura narrowed his eyes menacingly.

"Who are you to decide what I owe anyone?" He asked, slowly, deliberately.

"I know what you put him through. I know what you did to him in Battle City."

"You didn't seem so keen on helping my little Landlord while you were still on Earth to do it, Pharaoh," Bakura said sharply.

"I know." It was blunt. Pharaoh didn't feel like mincing words. "I admit I didn't raise a hand to help him. And I do regret that."

"Out of curiosity, Pharaoh, why didn't you?"

The Pharaoh sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head

"Coward," Bakura growls. "You've always been a coward."

"Regardless of my bravery or my motives," Pharaoh said, pointing to Bakura, "The gods have agreed that you must repay your debt to your host. The terms are simple. He gave you life, and now you must give him life in return. Once you have done that, then you are free to join the afterlife."

"What does that mean?" Bakura demanded. Damn it, why was Pharaoh mocking him with that calm smile? Why didn't he explain, instead of talking circles around his head?

"You aren't a fool, Bakura," Pharaoh said simply. "You'll figure it out.*

And then he's back in Domino museum, collapsed in Ryou's arms. Marik and Ishizu flanked his sides; Marik looking confused, Ishizu looking annoyed.

"Bakura?" Ryou asked, shaking him gently. "Are you alright?"

A few of the passersby stopped to stare at the scene, before politely walking away a few moments later.

Always looking, never helping._ No one cares about Bakura, the dirty little street rat._

"I'm fine," Bakura snapped, shoving Ryou away.

Pharaoh. Pharaoh. Why the hell would he try to help him? Why did he care about him now? Why did he care about Ryou now?

Marik held out his hand to help him up. Bakura slapped the hand away and made his own way to his shaky legs.

"What happened?" Ryou asked.

"...The Pharaoh."

Ryou furrowed his brow.

"Is that the voice we heard?" He asked. "My word, I thought it sounded familiar."

"What did he say?" Marik asked, face alight with curiosity.

"He told me that I owe my Landlord a debt, and that the gods gave me this chance and this body in order to repay it."

"Me? The gods...the Pharaoh...actually did this for me?" Ryou went just a little cross-eyed and frowned.

"Apparently so."

Bakura looked around. There was no trace that anything out of the ordinary had just taken place. But the Pharaoh's words still rang in his mind like an annoying chime that wouldn't cease.

"He was speaking in riddles," Bakura growled.

_He once gave you life. And now you must give him life in return._

_What the hell does that even mean?!_


	8. All You Can Do

I'm so sorry that my updates have been slow. My computer was fucked up, and my inspiration was gone for the longest time. Please forgive me :

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><p>This was one of those moments where Marik really, really wished that he still had his Millennium Rod. He felt helpless in this situation, just a normal person faced with something he really, <em>really <em>would rather not be involved with.

Bakura had pulled himself together, and lapsed into a sullen silence. Ryou tried to say reassuring things, but he was brushed off every time. He was growing visibly more frustrated with every passing moment; apparently even HE had limits to his patience.

Marik cast a glance to his sister for help, but she had nothing to offer him; she looked just as helpless as he was. He wished Odion were there with some helpful piece of advice as well, and not all the way back in Alexandria. Between his two older siblings, they just might find a decent answer to the questions hanging in the air.

(He'd call him later.)

"Um...do you want me to get you guys home? I can drive you."

Ryou looked relieved that someone besides him had spoken.

Bakura shot Ryou an ugly look that obviously meant he was supposed to say no. But Ryou didn't seem to get the message.

"Oh? That would be nice, thank you."

Bakura slapped his forehead.

~oOo~

Bakura hated, _hated, HATED _awkward silences. Most of allthe awkward silence currently passing between he and Marik as he sat in the front seat of his maroon sports car. He hated that his Landlord kept his mouth shut, doing nothing to relieve the awkwardness. (He hated that the word awkward now sounded funny to him.) He hated that Marik looked so innocently flustered-why the bloody HELL was he not getting angry? Hell, Bakura would feel better if Marik was being _smug. _Anything but this... calm confusion. His stomach was turning somersaults inside him, filling him with anxiety and nausea.

(He hasn't felt this nervous in- quite literally- thousands of years.)

Bakura leaned back against the leather headrest, huffing angrily. He shook his head violently and growled.

"...Are you alright, Bakura?"

Ryou frowned at him, concern written on his knitted brow.

"No, Landlord. I'm not alright."

Bakura clenched his fists, his hands trembling. He fought the familiar, terrifying burning sensation in his eyes. (Like hell he's gonna cry...)

"Landlord...I...I wish I knew what to do. I hate this. I hate not knowing."

Marik's grip tightened on the steering wheel, his purple eyes narrowing.

"If you're scared, Bakura, just admit it. Nobody's going to think any differently of you for it, you know," he said through gritted teeth.

Bakura huffed.

"I'm not bloody scared. I'm just angry, is all."

"You know, I can tell when people are lying. I'm not stupid."

"Shut up, Marik! What I'm up to or what I'm thinking stopped being your business years ago!"

Marik cringed, then fixed his eyes still more firmly on the road.

"Is this your building?" He asked, pointedly addressing the question to Ryou.

"Yes," Ryou replied. "Thanks for driving us."

Marik fumbled for a scrap of paper and a pen. He scribbled a few numbers on it and handed it to him.

"My cell phone number. If you need help, call me. I'll always answer for you."

Ryou smiled at him sheepishly, accepting the shred of paper and putting it into his pocket.

"Thank you." he said gratefully.

"No problem." Marik answered nonchalantly, casting a glance at the apartment building that Ryou resided in. He wondered, briefly, why he lived in such a bad part of town.

Bakura unbuckled his seatbelt, looking antsy.

Ryou sighed, looking at him in disapproval before wilting, "Fine, go ahead in. I'll be up soon."

Bakura, grateful to escape the awkward atmosphere, exited the car as quickly as he could, eager to be back into the sanctuary of the apartment

Ryou cleared his throat.

"Well...thanks again, Marik."

Marik gave him a serious look.

"Listen, you should be very careful with him. I don't know what exactly is going on, but I don't like it."

"I don't either," Ryou admitted, wrapping his arms around to hold himself. "I'm kind of scared, to be honest."

"Scared?"

"...I'm worried about Bakura. What if something really bad happens? What happens if he dies before he finds out what he's supposed to do? what

happens to him then?"

Marik threw his hands in the air in frustration.

"I don't know _anything_ anymore," he grumbled, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel.

"Ishizu and Odion are being too protective. It's been years, but they still treat me like I'm made of glass."

He sighed.

"I wish they'd talk to me more. I'm not the same as I was."

"I know that feeling," Ryou admitted. "Yugi and the others have been the same way. Actually, they haven't been talking to me at all." He shook his head. "They just can't trust me anymore, I suppose."

"That doesn't seem very fair, when you weren't the one doing anything wrong."

Ryou shrugged his thin shoulders and shook his head again.

"I can't say I blame them though. After all, I kept Bakura in my head for so long. I even defended him, sometimes. They really shouldn't trust me."

Marik glared at him.

"Don't say that. Don't fucking say that. Everyone deserves a second chance."

His voice trembled slightly, his knuckles going white on the steering wheel.

"...Everyone."

"Marik..."

Ryou touched his shoulder gently, and smiles at him.

"It's alright, really."

Marik smiled back at him, touching his hand briefly, his dark skin contrasted harshly with Ryou's almost sickly pallor.

"Go home," Ryou urged him. "Get some sleep. I'll text you before I go to work tomorrow."

His gentle, brown eyes warmed something deep in Marik's soul. they were completely unlike Bakura's cold, sharp ones. Ryou had a kind look to him, and he just seemed...sweet. He couldn't understand how anyone couldn't trust those eyes.

Ryou left the car with a final parting smile. Marik waved from the window before driving off, hoping Ryou didn't notice how fiercely he was blushing.

~oOo~

_Bakura is about twelve years old when he realizes that there's something wrong with him._

_He notices the other kids avoid him. They call him names and throw things at him. The adults look at him like he's a rat, rather than a scruffy, starving peasant boy in rags- of course, boys in rags were pretty much the same as rats to them._

_But that's not too bad-it's nothing he can't handle. But still, he wonders._

_(No one from Kul Elna ever treated him this badly...)_

_He starts seeing things- just flickering shadows in the corners of his eyes, but they're still there. _

_Sometimes he can make out faces- that one's his father, that one's the old merchant, that one's the widower who lived next door. People who had known and been kind to him._

_Sometimes he hears them- voices in his head that aren't really voices, words that aren't really words. He's not sure whether this should frighten him. But he's dealt with worse, so he tries his best to ignore it._

_Some time after this, his dreams change. They aren't nightmares anymore. But they're still not pleasant, either. They're full of shadows and darkness and glowing red eyes. They frighten him enough to wake him. But, like always, he learns to live with it._

_Between ignoring the taunts, the dreams, and the visions all at once, his grasp on reality has become very flimsy indeed._

_Shortly before he turned thirteen, he realised there was something very, VERY wrong with him._

_The buzzing, incoherent voices become louder and more distinct. He can hear each hateful word they say, every wish for revenge._

_**"They killed us. They killed us and then erased our names. You have to become strong so you can avenge us."**_

_"I don't...I don't want..."_

_**"Why are you still so weak? Did you forget about us? Didn't you love us, Bakura?"**_

_"I-I do...I still do!"_

_**"Why are you weak?!"**_

_"Please...just leave me alone..."_

_**"We know how to make you stronger."**_

_Bakura clutches his head and screams._

_"I don't care! I don't care anymore! Just leave me alone!"_

_**"You need the dark one. The dark one will make you strong."**_

_Bakura paused._

_"The dark one?"_

_**"A part of him was buried inside all of us. Our souls kept him bound in chains. Now that the village is destroyed, he is sleeping within you."**_

_"...In me?"_

_**"The pieces of the Dark One's soul have been reunited. You are the vessel that would bring him back into the mortal world. He will make you strong in exchange. He will give you the power to destroy our enemies, and all he desires in return is your body."**_

_A part of Bakura knew that this 'dark one' he heard about was the one __**really **__speaking to him, but he didn't want to believe it. He wanted to believe he was hearing his father, his sister, his friends, or his mother. He didn't want to believe he had a monster in his heart._

_He stays up until the early hours of the morning, staring at the lonely moon and begging the gods for an answer, sobbing until his entire body trembled. _

_"Please, help me...I don't know what's happening to me."_

_The pink sunrise peaking over the sleepy little town only brought more confusion._

_"...I'm scared..."_

Bakura was suffering from an acute case of deja vu as he remembered those times, when he was only a frightened child.

He wasn't a child anymore. He wasn't defenseless, nor was he innocent or anything else that he had been back then...

...So why did it still bother him so much?

He'd been used and then discarded like trash. He'd been manipulated like a puppet. Dressed up and played with like a doll.

_Like I used my landlord._

_What do I do...?_

The soft fabric of a warm blanket slipped around his skinny shoulders, Ryou's thin arms wrapping around his waist. He wonders how long he's been standing here, staring into space.

Ryou's hands were soft and pretty, even marred by a smattering of tiny, half-healed cuts.

"I'm sorry we couldn't find a better answer for you," He said softly. "I promise I'll help you find what you need to know, no matter what."

Ryou's chest was pressed against him, the Millennium Ring digging into his back.

"Landlord?"

"Yes?"

"The Ring. Why did you take it back? You didn't have to."

"Huh?" Ryou thought about this for a second. "I'm not sure, really. I just...I heard it calling for me. Screaming, actually. Begging. I couldn't leave it behind."

He leaned his head against Bakura's shoulder, sighing deeply.

"I was disappointed when I found out it was just a lifeless piece of gold."

Bakura reached up to touch Ryou's hand.

"It has never been a lifeless piece of metal, Landlord. It has my village within it."

"...I suppose."

Bakura clenched his hands into white knuckled fists to stop their trembling.

"They begged for revenge...and I failed them. I made them a promise, and I failed...I'm a horrible excuse for a son."

Ryou tightened his grip and nuzzled his neck.

"You did everything you could do. You gave everything you had."

"It wasn't enough."

"No."

Ryou squeezed him tightly, his voice cracking the tiniest bit.

"Bakura...you gave your all. That's all anyone can ask of you. And if I were the people of your village, I would be proud of you."

Bakura leaned into the fierce embrace. It felt good to be held.

* * *

><p>Special thanks to my beta reader, TheAmberRaven. Thank you as well, to all my reviewers who stuck with me :)<p> 


	9. Time Together

I has updated- Is you proud of me? XD

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><p>Bakura had been pacing the floor of the kitchen restlessly for the past three hours, muttering strings of ancient Egyptian under his breath. Ryou couldn't very well sleep either- even though he had an important test tomorrow. He tossed and turned in his bed, becoming increasingly frustrated.<p>

He threw back the covers and stood up, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. He looked at his nightstand, debated for a moment, then picked up his cell phone. He hoped Marik won't be too upset if he called this late at night.

The phone rings a few times, then Marik answered, his voice raspy and heavy from sleep.

"Ryou?"

"Marik...I'm sorry- did I wake you up?"

"Nah, it's alright. I just got to sleep anyway. Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Ryou scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit flustered and self-conscious all of a sudden.

"Oh. I was just lonely, I suppose. Bakura won't talk to me. I needed someone to talk to. Do you have a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." Marik seemed more awake now. "What do you want to talk about?"

Ryou smiled in relief. He searches his head for a decent topic of conversation.

"Let me think... do you go to school at all?"

"Not really. I learn stuff at home, and I go to the library a lot, but that's it. Ishizu and Odion don't want me in public places where they can't be with me."

Marik sounded simultaneously sad and angry, Ryou suddenly felt very sad. He found it kind of hard to talk.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's fine. Don't worry."

"Hey..." Ryou said tentatively. "I get off work early tomorrow. Do you maybe want to get together and have dinner?"

A silence.

"Really? That'd be great!" Marik said, sounding surprisingly uplifted. "I'll come get you when you get off. What time should I come?"

"Um...seven thirty."

"Great. I'll talk to Ishizu and pick you up then. Is that okay?"

"...Yeah. That's perfect."

Ryou wondered, in the back of his mind, whether he's just asked Marik out on a date. He wonders if that will be awkward, especially with Bakura around. He pushes the nagging thought aside.

He's going to have dinner with Marik. He's going to go out and have a good time, regardless of what Bakura might think about it. He is determined to do that.

He goes out into the kitchen, where Bakura is still pacing like a caged lion.

Ryou puts a hand on his shoulder to try to calm him. Bakura grabs his wrist so hard it bruises. When he realizes who it is, he relaxes his grip.

"Landlord..."

Ryou smiles at him sweetly, fakely.

"Come on. We should go to bed."

Bakura shakes his head, sighing heavily and murmuring something in Egyptian.

"Huh?"

"...I'm not tired."

Ryou made a sad noise in the back of his throat. He returned to his bedroom and tossed and turned until his alarm went off to call him to class. He dragged himself to the shower and nearly fell asleep under the hot water. He dressed himself in his usual attire and emerged to bid Bakura a quick farewell. He didn't say anything in response, but he gave a jerky sort of nod in his landlord's direction. Ryou stuffed a change of clothes into his bag, then hurried off to catch the subway to the university.

It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to pay attention in class. He took notes on what the professors were saying, but he didn't really register what was being said. He would have to reread his textbooks when he got the chance.

When his classes are over, he headed over to the pharmacy where he worked. He puts on a happy, focused face in order to get through the day. It was hard, but he managed to play the part of the courteous, friendly employee until seven thirty came.

Marik arrives right on time, pulling up in front of the pharmacy on his sleek, black motorcycle. Ryou runs into the bathroom to change out of his uniform before going out to meet him. Having put off doing laundry for the past couple weeks, all Ryou had left was the same old blue and white striped shirt and worn out jeans he'd kept in the back of his closet for years. Marik offers him a shy smile and hands him his helmet.

"Hey."

"Sorry about the clothes," Ryou said, a little embarrassed. "I don't really have a lot else."

"It's fine. Are you ready to go?"

Ryou nodded. He got on the motorcycle behind Marik and, after a certain awkward pause, put his arms around his skinny waist. His pale cheeks turned light pink. Marik revved the engine and took off down the freeway. The rush of adrenaline made Ryou gasp, then start laughing from sheer euphoria. He gripped Marik tighter so he wouldn't go flying off.

His hands started trembling. His heart started pounding. His head started reeling- the most amazing thing ever.

Marik led the motorcycle to a sushi bar downtown. Ryou had been there before, and he knew it was good- he had high hopes for tonight.

He let Marik take him by the hand and led him into the restaurant. The friendly waitress leads them to a table in the very back. Ryou was glad for the privacy.

"Marik, is it alright if I ask you something?"

He tenses up.

"...Yeah?"

"If it's alright me to ask...what exactly was your relationship with my- with Bakura? What happened between you two while you were together?"

A deep crimson flush spreads across Marik's dark skin. He has to hide his face from the waitress as she brings them their orders. As soon as she leaves, he speaks as quickly and as bluntly as possible.

"We had sex. A lot of it."

It was Ryou's turn to blush fuschia. He realized that he had lost his virginity long before he consciously made the decision to have sex- years. It's a profoundly embarrassing realization.

"So...you and he...you and I..."

Marik nodded, ashamed with himself.

"I didn't really want to, at first... but it felt amazing once he finally talked me into doing it. HE was amazing..."

Ryou blushed darker still.

"I'm sorry. You didn't really get a say in it, did you?"

"N-no- i-it's okay!" Ryou stammered. "I'm just a little shocked, is all. I guess I never thought of Bakura as someone who wants something so..."

"Human?" Marik offered helpfully.

Ryou sighed, nodding in agreement.

"...Yes. I suppose that's what I mean."

"It shouldn't be so surprising. He's still human, after all."

"I know. I just... well, I didn't know much about him back then. I still don't, I suppose." He rested his chin in the crook of his elbow. "Sometimes, I still think of him as the one who had hurt me so much... even though it wasn't all his fault. It's hard to think of him as someone that was ever human at all."

"I know. I have to deal with the same thing, even now."

"...I know that, too."

Marik sighed and struggled trying to use the chopsticks, fumbling and dropping them at least a dozen times. Ryou didn't feel that hungry all of a sudden.

The rest of dinner passed in a tense and rather awkward silence. Marik picked up the bill afterward, after a brief argument when Ryou insisted on helping. He took Ryou down to the harbor, and they sat on a bench overlooking the restless ocean. Marik looked like he was struggling to find the right words to say.

"Ryou...about Bakura and I..."

"Hm?"

"It wasn't really a relationship. We were just...I don't know. Partners in crime with benefits, I suppose. There wasn't any real emotion involved...on his side, anyway."

Marik sounded a bit sad as he said this.

"Hey, it's alright. I understand. Don't worry about it."

Ryou offered him a kind smile and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Would it be alright if I kissed you, just once?" Marik asked.

Ryou was a bit surprised by this. He nodded before he had a chance to think it over. Marik tentatively took his hand and leaned in closer, his eyes clouded over with desire. He pressed their lips together softly, just a bare, nervous touch at first. Then he pressed in more forcefully, and Ryou felt the most anxious brush of his tongue.

It wasn't his first kiss. But it was somehow different from the others. More intense, he supposed.

When they broke apart, both of them were flushed and out of breath.

"Wow..."

"I'll take you back home," Marik said quickly, to hide his bewilderment. "I had a good time with you."

Ryou nodded. They got back on the motorcycle and went back to Ryou's apartment building. Marik accompanied him up the stairs and to the front step, leaving him with a quick goodnight and a kiss on the cheek. This left Ryou oddly light hearted as he goes inside.

"Bakura?" He called out to the dark apartment. "Bakura, I'm home."

He kicked off his shoes and walked down the short hallway to the bedroom.

"Bakura?"

He finally found Bakura on the bed, bundled in blankets like a giant fluffy blue burrito. He pokes his head out to glare at him bitterly.

"Have fun out with Marik, Landlord?" He asked bitterly.

"How did you-"

"I'm not deaf, Landlord. I heard you talking last night. You ran off to spend time with him, right?"

Ryou found himself getting defensive.

"I can spend time with other people, Bakura! It's no business of yours whether it's with Marik or anybody else!"

Bakura burst out laughing mirthlessly- an angry, cold sound without any joy in it at all.

"You finally have a backbone, it seems."

"Bakura..."

Before Ryou could do or say anything else, Bakura had disappeared once more into his sky blue cocoon of depression. Ryou huffs indignantly.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous of me!"

Bakura merely grunted in response.

"You're absolutely impossible."

Ryou got ready for bed and got in as far from Bakura as he possibly could. A short while afterward, Bakura started groaning and crying out, wrestling with his nightmares.

_I can't stay angry with him. He can't help the way he is._

Ryou reached out and started gently stroking Bakura's hair.

"You really are hopeless," he whispered softly.

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><p>Thanks to everyone for reading- please review :D<p> 


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